The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1887-06-10

FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 1887.
UPS AND DOWNS OF ARMY LIFE.
now FORTUNE CAME OF LAzrSEss

Simon Bolivar Buckner, nameu
after the South American liberator,
the Democratic candidate for Gov
ernor of Kentucky at the approach
ing election, is well known through
out the country as the Confederate
General who surrendered Fort Don
elson and its garrison to General
Grant. He was born in 1928 and is
u native of Kentucky, from which
State he was appointed cadet to
the Military Academy, graduating
in 1874, and assigned to the infan-
try arm of the service; was twice
brevetted for gallant conduct in the
Mexican War, at the battles Of
Cherubusco and Molino del Rey.
He was appointed q Captain in the
Commissary Department in 1852
and resigned his commission in 1865
to take charge of his property in
terests in Chicago. AT the outbreak
of the Civil War he returned to
kentucky, and was appointed by
the Governor of that State-whose
sympathies were strongly with the
Conference.-The commander of the
State troops, from which position he
became Confederate General. In
order to secure to himself his Chica-
60 property before leaving to join
the Southern cause he made deed
of trust to his brother-ln-law, Lieu
tenant Henry w. Kingsbury, United
States Army. This young officer,
who commanded light battery of
the Fifth Artillery at the battle of
Antietam, died in September, 1862,
of wounds received in that action.
AS he left no reconveyance of the
property or explanation of the trans
action, though the purport of it was
generally understood among the
near relatives and intimate friends,
| General Buckner after the war had
considerable difficulty in regaining
his property, and in which he only
succeeded after protracted law
suit.
This Chicago property is worth
more than 100000. 1t came to
Gen. Buckner as the estate of his
first wife, the daughter of the late
Major Julius j. b. Kingsbury, L.
S. A. How the Major acquired a
large fortune is one of the strange
incidents of old army frontier life.
Shortly after graduating in 1928 and
becoming q Lieutenant in the Second
Infantry, he was assigned to duty
at Fort Dearborn, the site of which
is now that of the city of Chicago
He acquired, through an Academia
transaction, the title to small
piece of ground outside of the Gov
eminent reservation. When he was
ordered to another station he made
arrangements, on advantageou.
terms, as he then deemed, to dispose
of it, but failed through not keeping
his appointment with the party in
tended to purchase. Kingsbury
was proverbial for his laziness; wa.
never known of his own accord to bt
on time or meet any specified en-
gagement. 1t was saying that i
he went anywhere to stay but a day
if he unpacked his trunk, it would
be weeks before he would ge
away. lie would put off from da,
to day making the necessary
preparations to leave and at las
only when he was forced to it. Thi
procrastinating and lazy habit of hi
finally was the cause ofihis dismlssa
from the army in 1856. He wen
on leave of absence, over-staid j
for several months and paid no at
tention whatever to the repeated
orders of the War Department Il
rejoin his regiment. He was then
Major in the Sixth Infantry. Tn
authorities annoyed beyond wha
was deemed proper enduranc
dropped him from the service. Yer,
many attempts were made durin,
his army life to purchase from hin
the Chicago property, which eacl
year became more valuable, bu
they all failed, though several time
agreeing to sell, by his procastina
ton in signing and Acknowledged,
the deeds; at one time it would b
the distance he would have to travt
from his military post to the ollic
of the Court official before whor
the instrument would have to be eS
ecuted: at another time it would b
some other excuse of trivial nat
ure, and, so, when he died, whic
was shortly after his dismissal, h
was still in possession of the Ian
he had acquired while young Lieu
tenant at Fort Dearborn. His wifi
died before him, and there were bu
two heirs to his estate-his daugt
ter, the wife of Captain Bucknel
and his son, the gallant youn
officer, MORALLY wounded at Antit
tam. The laziness of Major Kings
bury was a more than half millio
fortune to his children.
General Grant and Buckner afte
the war renewed their old army il
timacy, and in the disastrous day
OF the Ferdinand Ward failure
which reduced Grant to the verg
of absolute want, Buckner was Oh
of the very first to tender pecuniar
assistance, privately inclosing
check for 81 900 and requesting I'll
acceptance of it for the sake of aul
lang syne. 1t would have nevt
| han,, 1,nnur hoI not l,n.o,ol G.,a.